Lewis future looks bright, boss insists
NEWCASTLE United head coach Steve Bruce is still tipping Jamal Lewis for big things at the club despite the left-back only playing six minutes of football in the last six weeks.
Lewis came off the bench the 4-3 defeat to Man City – his first outing since the 1-1 draw with Wolves on February 27.
While Bruce hasn’t picked him to start in months, the veteran boss is confident £15 million Lewis will still turn out to be a good player.
“Look he’s only young and I expected him to have a blip along the way – or whatever you want to call it,” Bruce said.
“He’s done nothing wrong. I think he’s got a huge future for us.
“I see him train every day and watch him, and he’s a young player – I’ve just gone for a bit of experience at a time when I felt we’ve needed it most.
“So like a lot of players coming to Newcastle, Jamal is straight under the spotlight but he’ll be fine and he’s going to be a really, really good player.
“His first season has been difficult because of where we found ourselves in the league but he’s had another year in the Premier League, two successive years the kid has had in the Premier League so that’ll do him the world of good.”
Matt Ritchie has come into the side and made the left wing-back role his own with Lewis confined to the bench for the last eight games other than his 84th-minute cameo on Friday.
Meanwhile, former Newcastle defender James Tavernier has won the PFA Scotland player of the year award.
The Rangers right-back prevailed from an all-Ibrox shortlist following the club’s Scottish Premiership title win.
Tavernier, who scored 19 goals this season, beat team-mates Allan McGregor, Ryan Kent and Steven Davis to the prize.
Davis earlier scooped the Scottish Football Writers’ Association award while McGregor was named SPFL Premiership player of the year earlier in the week.
Steven Gerrard clinched the GMB Scotland manager of the year award, selected by his peers, to make it a treble of all the major manager prizes.
Celtic midfielder David Turnbull – a former Newcastle target – won the PFA Scotland young player of the year prize.
The former Motherwell player beat Rangers’ Nathan Patterson, Ali McCann of St Johnstone and Hibernian left-back Josh Doig to the award.